Nelson and his wife were leaving dinner at a new pizza joint near their home in Omaha one night last week when a patron began complaining about Nelson’s decisive vote in favor of the Senate’s health care bill.

Other customers started booing. A woman yelled, “Get him the hell out of here!” And the Nelsons and their dining companions beat a hasty retreat.

The pizza place is the relatively new Dante Pizzeria Napoletana on 168th and Center in the Shops of Legacy. (We hope to update with additional details.)

**UPDATE at Noon**

Here are the details Leavenworth Street has received from someone who was there:

Simultaneously people at the the other table started booing and giving him the “thumbs down”.

The person who hailed him said to Nelson “I’m very disappointed in your vote Senator.”

Nelson replied, “Ok, thank you.”

But the booing continued and as Nelson picked up the pace to get out of there, a woman yelled very loudly “Somebody get him the hell out of here!”

***

Now, we here at Leavenworth Street frankly don’t condone such behavior. Nelson and his wife should be able to go out to dinner in peace.

But… how much of this has Nelson brought upon himself?

He goes on for weeks and weeks about how he won’t support the Health Care Re-form bill “unless”, then changes his terms, sells out, gives Nebraska a horrible name nationwide, and goes on TV during the Husker game claiming he’s been “listening” to Nebraskans.

Really? Listening?

***

Well, Nelson isn’t done with his damage control.

We’ve learned that Nelson’s film crew was shooting a NEW commercial near the Security National Bank on 64th and Center. This time, instead of speking to the camera himself, Nelson is using third-party testimonials from others to tell how swell of a guy he is for voting for the bill.

Amazing that someone who says nine out of ten people support him and claims not to care what the polls say, is already on his second round of ads — two full years before he is up for re-election.

But considering the visceral reaction Nelson is causing in people, it’s no wonder that he is still in massive damage control.

49 comments

What is more troubling is the Nelson spin machine keeps saying how Nebraskans are telling him that he is doing the right thing. Ben, you were out in public having pizza and your constituents ran you out of a restaurant!!! Not even Jim Suttle gets run out out of places.

Mr. Lewis should be embarrassed. He did himself and Nebraska no favors by orchestrating that "scene" and then pimping it to a DC reporter.

This is a great example of what Nebraska has become. It is no longer a neighborly, friendly place. It is instead inhabited by right wing nut jobs who have demoralized society with their incivility.

The irony here is Mr. Lewis probably considers himself a devout christian and probably thumps his bible every once in a while. Too bad he isn't reading it more. Jesus had a simple Golden Rule about how to treat each other. Mr. Lewis and his wife and their goon squad forgot that lesson.

Ben Nelson is the most approachable public figure in Nebraska. They could have handled that with a bit more class than what was reported. I am embarrassed for them for how they have presented Nebraska to the national media.

Mr. Lewis is a Hero!!!! Ben Nelson continues to lie about how Nebraskans support the Senate bill and his votes. It's nice to see the Nelson staffers go after Christians to try to save their inept boss's hide in 2012.

Nebraskans might be nice, but we aren't fools and we aren't patsies. Being a Nebraskan doesn't mean that you have to let people spit in your face and then lie about it. If you think letting your feelings be made known in public is a foreign concept to Nebraskans, then you obviously haven't been to Memorial Stadium.

Nelson is bringing this on himself. He is absolutely refusing to acknowledge that his constituents are against this. He's even out and out lying about it in the media. When you shut down the proper and civil means of communication, you should expect citizens to improvise.

James Martin Davis and his wife was at the pizza place with Ben and his wife and another couple, and said on KFAB this morning that the incident never happened. Davis said a couple of people came to their table to say "Hello" to the Senator but there was no shouting, etc.

You take James Martin Davis, former Dem Congressional Candidates word over the public. Remember this was the guy that said, "My client was surprised that there was no massage table set up in the hotel room and he became suspicious."

Folks you have this all wrong. This is an Italian restaurant. In Italy a thumbs down is a good thing. Back in the days of the Colosseum the crowd wanted a thumbs down from the Emperor so they could see a killing. Also what you take as a "Boo" in Italian is short for Bonjorno or a friendly greeting. Ben Nelson is very popular and many Nebraskans support his health care vote.

Listen to the pod-cast of Vorhees' KFAB show this morning (hopefully it is up). The gentleman from Kearney, NE who spoke with EBN for minutes in the restaurant (and gave a blow by blow account how the situation unfolded) indicated that at the time most of these comments were made, the rest of EBN's party was in another area of the restaurant. So JMD may have not have heard any of the comments.

The gentleman from Kearney was very convincing. JMD was probably not lying (alhough he said they were at dinner there with EBN on Saturday, not Friday as it was reported to have happened), he just did not see it.

I find it hard to believe anyone that also says that 9 out of 10 Nebraskans are telling EBN he did well by his vote.

You are a fool. If you want to explain to the people here on Leavenworth Street the significance of a down-turned thumb, you should at least tell the truth, not something you've just pulled out of your butt. What you said about "Boo" is a lie. But, then, you closed with two other inanities; Nebraskans, being for the most part Republican, aren't happy with Ben, nor with what he has done.

I'm surprised Nelson would dare set foot in a place called Dante's. In the Inferno, Dante consigned corrupt politicians to the eighth circle of hell, where they were immersed in a lake of boiling pitch.

You're going with the antique Florentine version I see. Dante's epic work had a lot to do with Florentine becoming the base for the modern Italian language. It could just as easily have come from Sicilian after Garibaldi helped unite the kingdoms.

There's a cool video of the 1911 film of "L'Inferno" but since Sweep won't let us do links here, you'll have to look it up yourself. Just Google … linferno.

I'm just full of surprises! Actually I don't know how any thinking person could NOT be a Democrat. I understand some of the issues you have with the Democratic Party, since my issues with them are public knowledge, but I'm doing all I can to help my party be what it should. I sure wish those that call themselves Republicans would do likewise.

I find it very unfortunate that my country is being torn apart by the illogical factions on both sides. The demagogues on the left are just as ridiculous as those on the right. I'm old enough to remember when both Ds and Rs genuinely strove to do what they thought was best for our country. Now all we get is bile spewed back and forth with no one making any progress. One side won't give an inch to the other because they are "the other side." What we really need to understand is that we're all on the same ship. When your vessel is on fire, everyone needs to be a fireman.

Right, Left, UP The Middle… What Ben Nelson has done to Nebraska is despicable. He is a public figure out to dinner in a public restaurant. The Boo's and Jeers comes with the territory. He can plug a commercial but Nebraskans can't tell him what's on their minds when they see him on the street? Maybe he should rethink his career. The wheelin' and dealin' going on in Washington is disgusting to me. Anybody that can't see THAT has issues that go beyond political labels.

Angela,Call his office and complain or write a letter. Start a recall effort if you feel that strongly about it. But everyone should be able to go out and enjoy a meal with family and friends without being harrassed

BTW, it doesn't help to write a letter any more. This man has the power to change the fate of Nebraskans as well as the rest of the country. What he did was despicable. People have the right to question him and/or share their disdain for what he has done. He signed up for that when he ran for office and again when he accepted the position. Now they are making deals with unions. DISGUSTING!

You do have the right to question him and share your misplaced disdain. I would never act to try and stifle free speech from anyone, Im not GWB. But we all, democrats and republicans and independents and greenparty(ers?) and libertarians have a right not to be harrassed.

There is serious defugalty within in both parties here in Nebraska.Neither one stands for freedom. I voted for Ben as our Governor after Kay Orr had Spent & Spent like a drunken sailor. The Repubs. overrode Nelsons budgets in favor of more spending. At that time Nelson was more conservative than the (supposed) conservative NEGOP.What a Joke!! They are both corrupt!!! and they could not give a damn about our freedom. I am ebbarrassed that I voted for Nelson, but I will never be taken in by Phony Conservatives again. (like Lee Terry)If I were there I would Have Boo-ed loudly.

I'm having difficulty finding an etymological source for "defulgaty." The closest thing I've found was in a proposed ebonics textbook developed for the Oakland school system by the noted LIchtensteiner linguist, Alois Dünser. It seems to deal with something defining a hinderance or a struggle.

Either way EBN is toast. This is almost too funny. Oh and about him not getting heckled in public. He chose public life and would be more than happy to take applause so sauce good for the goose is good for the gander.

Ol' Earmark really did us a favor with his letter to Reid/Pelosi asking to have his "special favor" removed from the Obamacare legislation. Now Reid/Pelosi want to bribe all 50 states with a kickback. Are we living in a cartoon?

"Victim" was an incorrect word;I do agree with both points.To deny the use of the word victim in this context, is to imply ownership of this debacle. I accept that.

Although, Progressives have had control of public and private education, government, politics, journalism, healthcare and the sciences for generations.

There is a crucial thing they haven't been able to complete their control of. That is the unflinching expectation of freedom.

It will be from a small number of freedom loving Americans that we will rekindle and re-inform that uniquely American value "Our Sense of Life".

If this country survives, I hope the word victim regains its proper usage, but for now what honest person hasn't felt victimized bythe proponents of this progressive philosophical takeover, and the political system it has produced.

US Justice Dept. Scuttles 'Kindles on Campus' test because blindstudents can't use themWashington (AP)1-14-10 Three universities testing Amazon's Kindle in the classroom have agreed to shelve the electronic book readers until they are fully functional for blind students, under a deal struck with the US Justice Department.

Soud O is absolutely correct about progressives. There's a great book on the subject, Liberal Fascism, that does an excellent job explaining the history of fasc….er, uh progressivism and their misguided attempts to "better" us inferiors. A companion book that also deals with the progressives' destructive designs on our economy is The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes. It deals with FDR and the Great Depression.